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Chan Ho Yin (Louis Ozawa Changchien) is a Hong Kong street magician who dreams of becoming something more. He reveals his secret pyrokinetic ability to Raina (Ruth Negga), the titular "girl in the flower dress", who kidnaps him and then promises him fame in exchange for running a few tests on his powers. The S.H.I.E.L.D. team attempts to trace his whereabouts but finds that it was the Rising Tide who leaked the information that lead to his capture and the blame falls to Skye. She protests her innocence and believes she knows another hacker who could have released the info. They head to Austin, Texas where it is revealed that Skye has a relationship with said hacker, Miles (Austin Nichols). They are both led back to the Bus in handcuffs while the team flies to Hong Kong to rescue Yin. Yin discovers his captors are injecting him with Extremis which dilutes the painlessness of his flame powers and he becomes the villain Scorch. He attacks Coulson and May and they are forced to active the unstable element of Extremis which kills him. Miles is released from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody, though placed on probation. Skye is questioned by Coulson and she tearfully reveals that the reason she is with the team is to find her missing parents who were connected to S.H.I.E.L.D. in some way. Coulson pledges to help her. Afterwards, Raina, who escaped Hong Kong, visits a mysterious man in prison and asks him to contact "the clairvoyant".

Chan Ho Yin performs a series of illusions on the streets of Hong Kong. He gets very few tips for his efforts. Chan is obviously disappointed, but he cheers up when he sees a girl in flower dress smiling in his direction. He does another trick. This time he incredibly conjures up a fireball in his hand. Chan hurls it into the night. He accompanies the girl in the flower dress back to his apartment. Her name is Raina. She believes Chan has a gift. She says he’s been chosen. Men in fire-retardant gear storm the apartment. They take Chan away.

Ward and Skye are involved in a fierce game of Battleship just before an incoming alert comes in. It’s about Chan. Coulson briefs the team on his pyrokinetic abilities. Chan has been on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s “Index” for years. That’s a list of people and objects with different kinds of power. Chan’s handler, Agent Kwan, reveals that his charge was upset that he couldn’t show his power. He also says that the bad guys tracked him down thanks to a crack into S.H.I.E.LD.’s data stream. The group responsible is the Rising Tide. Skye swears she had nothing to do with it. She helps locate the real hacktivist. He’s Miles Lydon of Austin, Texas.

The team tracks down Miles in Austin. They give chase, but the guy has a gridlock protocol app that he activates to cause Coulson to get caught in an instant traffic jam. When Miles gets back to his apartment, Skye is waiting for him. These two know each other—intimately. After Skye reads him the riot act for his recent stupidity, she kisses him passionately. The two of them make love. Skye warns Miles to steer clear of S.H.I.E.L.D. as she looks for her shirt top. She’s stunned to see Melinda May holding it in the next room. Skye knows she’s busted.

Skye swears that all is not as it seems. She warned Miles because they are friends. She was also trying to find out what he knows about Chan. Miles claims he doesn’t know anything about the man they seek. He’s going with the team to Hong Kong. So is Skye, in handcuffs. She argues with Miles about S.H.I.E.L.D.’S intentions. Coulson now wonders about Skye’s intentions. He believes she’s still hiding something. Miles is hiding something, too. He was paid a million bucks for information he gave to a girl in a flower dress. It involved a lab that was doing a study involving centipedes.

Raina apologizes to Chan for how they brought him in. She promises a chance to get him recognition for his gift. He could become a household name like Captain America. Speaking of names, Raina already has one picked out for Chan. She believes he should be called “Scorch.” Chan gets an injection to help him fully realize his power. He creates a large fire ring and hurls it across a lab. He’s ecstatic that someone is finally allowing him to show the world his power.

Debbie, the doctor we first saw in the “Pilot,” watches as Chan is put through a series of tests. The platelets in the subject’s blood prevent the Extremis serum in his system from combusting. Debbie orders Raina to drain him of those very platelets. Chan has become a lab rat for Centipede. Coulson and May head out to rescue him via the roof with Agent Kwan. They blow the door. May takes down a few bad guys while Kwan frees Chan. The building is put on lockdown. Coulson turns to see Agent Kwan has been set ablaze. Chan has injected himself with his platelets to keep from burning. He strikes out violently.

Skye needs to be onsite to hack into the system that’s trapping Coulson and May in the lab. Chan continues to shoot fire at the agents. Ward is on his way. Skye manages to unlock the doors. Chan escapes. He finds Debbie in the hallway. Raina closes the elevator doors leaving her trapped. An angry Chan shoots fireballs at Debbie setting her ablaze. All that’s left of the doctor is ash and dust. Chan is immobilized when May injects him with syringes from behind. Extremis forms on his face. With some help from Miles, the agents escape as the fireball that used to be Chan rockets through the roof before dissipating in the air.

Coulson fits Miles with a bracelet that will assure that he won’t be able to use electronics for awhile. He lets him know that he’ll have to find his own ride back to Austin. As for Skye, she’s on her own as she faces Coulson in his office. He knows she still has something she’s keeping a secret. Skye finally comes clean. She produces a file that shows how a lifelong search for her parents has led her to a single document. It’s been redacted by S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson says that maybe he can help. But for now, Skye will have to wear a bracelet just like the one given to Miles.

Raina meets with an imprisoned man. They are separated by a glass partition as they chat over the phone. Raina says they found a solution to the combustion problem. She believes they’ll soon have stable subjects. This means moving on to Phase 2. Rayna asks the man to touch base with someone known as the Clairvoyant. She wants to know if any insights can be given regarding Phase 3. The man warns that the Clairvoyant doesn’t like to be touched. Raina says they all have to do things that are uncomfortable if they are ever to get their toy soldiers off the shelf. She turns to leave. The man says he likes Raina’s flower dress. She responds, “I know.”

Please use this thread to discuss the series' fifth overall and first season fifth episode Girl in the Flower Dress. Rule: Please keep spoilers limited to those revealed during the series up to this episode only.

Last edited by Shooter; October 24th, 2013 at 03:07 AM.

Mal “The wheel never stops turning, Badger.”
Badger “That only matters to the people on the rim.”

The good:
1. OK, I kinda dug the villain Scorch. I have to admit though, I was hoping that they'd simply taken Sunfire
and changed his nationality from Japanese to Chinese. Given that Sunfire had worked with the West Coast Avengers I thought we could see a redemption story. But I guess not. The effects were quite good for the small screen for his fire effects, and I liked the use of the fire shield when Coulson tried to shoot him. His incineration attack seemed to move a bit slow (and therefore perhaps be somewhat avoidable), but I'll forgive that for the sake of a great finish.

2. Skye being outed. Given that there she had access to SHIELD systems inside the bus, it was only a matter of time until it hit the fan, and I'm glad they didn't drag this out. They probably went a bit light on the whole betrayal, breach of national security thing, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the future. I am glad that it put the brakes on the budding inter-team romance.

3. The "Centipede" organization. I'm glad that we're getting more looks into the big-bad Centipede organization, and I think that there's promise here for a good look at a serious (both in scope and tone) opponent for SHIELD. I'd like to think that SHIELD rounded up all of the scientists and would be able to get some good intel from them, or at least gather up some of what was left of the lab. Speaking of that...

The bad:
1. If you have time to sneak up on someone and stab them with two Extremis syringes, you can double-tap them in the back of the head. That way you don't have to hack the ventilation system, thereby providing a nice redemption story for the Rising Tide hacker. You don't also destroy the evidence on that floor. Nice effect and reminder that Extremis is unstable, but at best contrived and at worst weak storytelling.

PS: Shooter, re: your signature block, Badger is back as the big-bad in this season of White Collar. My wife swears he's one of the hardest working guys on TV, with Supernatural, White Collar and recently Leverage. Good to see

Last edited by Amberite; October 23rd, 2013 at 09:49 AM.

“Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.” ― Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

I also found myself thinking of Sunfire.. Overall I liked this episode, a little too 'on the rails' for me. The previous episode had that 'I have no idea where this may go' feel to it which I really enjoyed. Where as this one was very predictable, and yet; it was a good ride.

The "LOOK, look, it is EXTREMIS! Which ties this to the movies." was a groaner. But I suppose there may be something in their contract which forces them to do tie-ins every so many episodes, it happens with comic books and cartoons all the time. So I guess I need to cut them some slack.

Still this is looking like a decent and stable series so far, so no real complaints. It sure is no 70's Spiderman, I feel no shame in watching this show.

2. Skye being outed. Given that there she had access to SHIELD systems inside the bus, it was only a matter of time until it hit the fan, and I'm glad they didn't drag this out. They probably went a bit light on the whole betrayal, breach of national security thing, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the future. I am glad that it put the brakes on the budding inter-team romance.

Whedon only originally had 6 episodes so this was his big play for the 6 (the series has hence been given a full 22 episode season by ABC). I kind of liked it. It left the larger Coulson mystery on the table to explore while driving deep into the Skye character. She's still on the bus for now and will still be training with Ward. At the end Ward states, "You can't save someone from themselves, sir." And Coulson replies, "You can if you get to them early enough." And with her parent's identity unknown and a redacted S.H.I.E.L.D. report the last tiny lead Skye had, I'm sure there's waaaaaaaaaaay more to Skye than meets the eye - like her innate ability for Computer Science.

Originally Posted by Amberite

3. The "Centipede" organization. I'm glad that we're getting more looks into the big-bad Centipede organization, and I think that there's promise here for a good look at a serious (both in scope and tone) opponent for SHIELD. I'd like to think that SHIELD rounded up all of the scientists and would be able to get some good intel from them, or at least gather up some of what was left of the lab. Speaking of that...

Oh yes. I'd love to find out more about the mysterious man in prison and the cryptic "Clairvoyant." Something tells me this show, if it survives, may be a good lead in to the Avengers 2 movie if Whedon chooses to go that way. It could also be just an aside mention like Coulson often drops about his time with The Avengers. Either way, an organization like Centipede is needed now that the face of The Rising Tide is devalued as a bunch of non organized hackers - or hacktivists as Skye likes to call them.

Originally Posted by Amberite

1. If you have time to sneak up on someone and stab them with two Extremis syringes, you can double-tap them in the back of the head. That way you don't have to hack the ventilation system, thereby providing a nice redemption story for the Rising Tide hacker. You don't also destroy the evidence on that floor. Nice effect and reminder that Extremis is unstable, but at best contrived and at worst weak storytelling.

I kind of disagree. I think this was a smart play. They had no proof that killing a super-hyped up on serum would prevent them from exploding. It could, in fact, lead to them instantaneously exploding. Hitting Scorch with the serum and allowing for build-up time let May and Coulson both evac safely and allow Miles to control the blast harmlessly towards the sky. That's just my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by Amberite

PS: Shooter, re: your signature block, Badger is back as the big-bad in this season of White Collar. My wife swears he's one of the hardest working guys on TV, with Supernatural, White Collar and recently Leverage. Good to see

I love Mark Sheppard and his many faces. His IMDB credits start in 1992 and he has hit many of the top SciFi shows since. But the most notable thing about his appearances is that he is RARELY connected to a bad or mediocre episode. So when Mark Sheppard hits the screen, you know crap's about to get good.

Mal “The wheel never stops turning, Badger.”
Badger “That only matters to the people on the rim.”

I also found myself thinking of Sunfire.. Overall I liked this episode, a little too 'on the rails' for me. The previous episode had that 'I have no idea where this may go' feel to it which I really enjoyed. Where as this one was very predictable, and yet; it was a good ride.

The "LOOK, look, it is EXTREMIS! Which ties this to the movies." was a groaner. But I suppose there may be something in their contract which forces them to do tie-ins every so many episodes, it happens with comic books and cartoons all the time. So I guess I need to cut them some slack.

Still this is looking like a decent and stable series so far, so no real complaints. It sure is no 70's Spiderman, I feel no shame in watching this show.

As I mentioned above Whedon originally only knew he had 6 episodes. There's not much you can do with 6 episodes on American TV when you are developing most of the characters in the show even in a known universe. He had to ride a fine line of not pissing off the Marvel comic fan base, run a decent 6 episode story/arc and try to get the network to buy in for a full season. Maybe it is too early to tell but I think he has done a fine job of that coming together this week.

As a side note perhaps that is why we have our first 2 week break - to give the show some time to re-work the 6th episode. Instead of tying things up Whedon now has the opportunity for 16 more episodes. Yum.

Of course his next challenges will be to get a second season and to tie it all into the next Avengers movie (whether it is a strong tie in or just some passing comments).

Mal “The wheel never stops turning, Badger.”
Badger “That only matters to the people on the rim.”

Okay, lots of goodies in this episode. I'm going to break up my posts this time because I think there's a lot to talk about with each point. The first point I'd like to make is Chan's opening street market speech:

"My grandfather often said that every man is a mystery. Some men harbor beautiful secrets. Others hide darker ones. He believed the only way to know a man’s true nature is to pierce his outer shell and gaze within."

Is this a reference to Coulson, Ward, May, Skye, Fitz and Simmons in particular? Or is this a reference to everyone? I originally took this to mean Coulson specifically and the fact that to truly know who or what Coulson is we are going to have to pierce his outer shell and gaze within, but I guess it could be applicable to anyone on the show.

Discuss.

Mal “The wheel never stops turning, Badger.”
Badger “That only matters to the people on the rim.”

Okay, lots of goodies in this episode. I'm going to break up my posts this time because I think there's a lot to talk about with each point. The first point I'd like to make is Chan's opening street market speech:

"My grandfather often said that every man is a mystery. Some men harbor beautiful secrets. Others hide darker ones. He believed the only way to know a man’s true nature is to pierce his outer shell and gaze within."

Is this a reference to Coulson, Ward, May, Skye, Fitz and Simmons in particular? Or is this a reference to everyone? I originally took this to mean Coulson specifically and the fact that to truly know who or what Coulson is we are going to have to pierce his outer shell and gaze within, but I guess it could be applicable to anyone on the show.

Okay, lots of goodies in this episode. I'm going to break up my posts this time because I think there's a lot to talk about with each point. The first point I'd like to make is Chan's opening street market speech:

"My grandfather often said that every man is a mystery. Some men harbor beautiful secrets. Others hide darker ones. He believed the only way to know a man’s true nature is to pierce his outer shell and gaze within."

Is this a reference to Coulson, Ward, May, Skye, Fitz and Simmons in particular? Or is this a reference to everyone? I originally took this to mean Coulson specifically and the fact that to truly know who or what Coulson is we are going to have to pierce his outer shell and gaze within, but I guess it could be applicable to anyone on the show.

Discuss.

It feels like a lame answer, but it does apply to EVERYONE....after all the only guy we know anything about is Phil, and that's an hour of screen time...barely.....and we know diddly-poo about the magic of Tahiti too

But I think it was more aimed at Syke's layers in this show....the theme of this show seemed to be Skye showing how she's warmed up to SHIELD and doesn't see them as the "evil corporate arm of the gov't" anymore and feels like she has a home here.....though she almost screwed that up too.....

(I was smck40, but unlike George Lucas, when I write something you can't speak I change...and upgraded....the username!)

"How come EVERYONE can do an awesome rendition of 'All Along the Watchtower'....except for Bob Dylan who wrote the damned song??"

It feels like a lame answer, but it does apply to EVERYONE....after all the only guy we know anything about is Phil, and that's an hour of screen time...barely.....and we know diddly-poo about the magic of Tahiti too

I would not state that we know anything about Phil. At least not this version of Phil. I would like to find out more about Tahiti. It might have been overlooked but we did get a little further insight into Coulson in this episode. When he was talking to May at the start of the episode when they were watching Ward play Skye in Battleship May asks why he was up so early. He relied that he feels great and that he just has a little extra energy to burn. Okay - what does THAT mean?

Originally Posted by Scott the Hockey Guy

But I think it was more aimed at Syke's layers in this show....the theme of this show seemed to be Skye showing how she's warmed up to SHIELD and doesn't see them as the "evil corporate arm of the gov't" anymore and feels like she has a home here.....though she almost screwed that up too.....

Yes. It's amazing what you learn about an "evil" organization on the other side of the curtain. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does a great job of personalizing a mostly faceless organization. Coulson is going out of his way to respect the individual rights and freedoms as much as he can. Of course he has not always been successful but the fact that he is willing to try - and S.H.I.E.L.D. is authorizing him to try by the extension of not doing anything to stop him - says enough about S.H.I.E.L.D. to me to not call them evil. Skye has discovered this and it has opened her eyes. Perhaps that's one of the reasons Coulson was so lenient on her and allow her to stay. S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't have expected Skye to flip sides and become a S.H.I.E.L.D. groupie overnight, could they?

This brings up another question, though. Why did Skye decide to stay? What it because she was starting to become a part of something she thought was special and believed in? Was it solely to have a chance at finding out about her parents? Was it loyalty to her new team? She could have left the bus at the end but she didn't. She voluntarily put on the e-shackle. But why?

Mal “The wheel never stops turning, Badger.”
Badger “That only matters to the people on the rim.”

As far as the show's health, the episode's final Ratings were 7.39, down 0.46 from last week and resulting in a season average so far 8.78. In comparison, Person Of Interest, which airs later on Tuesday nights on the competing CBS network, had a rating of 13.17 the same night that this episode aired, up .48 resulting in a season average so far of 12.44.

The comparison isn't without it's faults. Person Of Interest is in it's third season. Person Of Interest airs at 10:00 PM Eastern Time versus S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 8 PM Eastern Time. And Person Of Interest does not depict people with superpowers.

But if Sean can successfully argue that Wargames is scifi I will argue that The Machine in Person Of Interest is no different than The W.O.P.R. in Wargames and thus Person Of Interest is scifi. I will also argue that despite the airing time differences of the two shows that they both are currently airing on Tuesday nights which is as close as you can get to a similar available audience without airing against each other. Finally, I will argue that although this is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first (hopefully of many) seasons, the show is a direct extension of the recent Marvel series of Avenger movies based on a vast existing comic book universe. I will also throw in that the two Executive Producers, JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon both have multiple successful TV shows and movies under their belt. So while not perfect, the comparison is more apt than at first glance.

I was hopeful for a S.H.I.E.L.D. ratings rebound following this episode. However, because the show is taking next week off due to Halloween or to rework the 6th episode in light of the series being picked up for a full 22 episode season, it may result in a one-week hiatus ratings drop instead. The show is in desperate need of an existing Avenger superhero appearance. Or at least more Fury/Hill Big-S.H.I.E.L.D. interaction.

Mal “The wheel never stops turning, Badger.”
Badger “That only matters to the people on the rim.”